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Blanco Releases Katrina Records
La. Governor Seeks to 'Set the Record Straight'

By Joby Warrick, Spencer S. Hsu and Anne Hull
Washington Post Staff Writers
Sunday, December 4, 2005; Page A01

Thousands of documents released by Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco Friday night shed new light on clashes between state officials, New Orleans Mayor C. Ray Nagin and the Bush administration as they struggled to respond to Hurricane Katrina.

Among the more than 100,000 pages of newly released records, which ranged from after-action reports to hand-scrawled notes written at the height of the storm, are memos showing Blanco frustrated and angered over delays in evacuations and the slow delivery of promised federal aid.

"We need everything you've got," Blanco is quoted in a memo as telling President Bush on Aug. 29, the day Katrina made landfall. But despite assurances from the Federal Emergency Management Agency that 500 buses were "standing by," Blanco's aides were compelled to take action when the FEMA buses failed to materialize, documents show. "We need buses," Andy Kopplin, chief of staff to Blanco, said in an e-mail to Blanco staffers late on Aug. 30, the day after the storm hit. "Find buses that can go to NO [New Orleans] ASAP."

Two days later, on Sept. 2, Blanco complained to the White House that FEMA had still failed to fulfill its promises of aid. While cloaked in customary political courtesies, Blanco noted that she had already requested 40,000 more troops; ice, water and food; buses, base camps, staging areas, amphibious vehicles, mobile morgues, rescue teams, housing, airlift and communications systems, according to a press office e-mail of the text of her letter to Bush.

"Even if these initial requests had been fully honored, these assets would not be sufficient," Blanco said. She also asked for the return of the Louisiana Army National Guard's 256th Brigade Combat Team, then deployed to Iraq.

Tensions between state leaders and the White House seemed at times near the boiling point. At 3:49 p.m. on Sept. 2, after spending three hours to appear with Bush at a Mississippi news conference, Rep. Charlie Melancon (D-La.) wrote Blanco's staff, "I am returning home to baron[sic] rouge in hoping I can accomplish something for the people I represent other than being occupied with PR."

He added that Bush's "entire effort on behalf of the federal government has been reflected in his and his people's nonchalant attitude to the people of LA. You may give him this to read."

The documents, which were posted on the Internet late Friday, also provide the most detailed account yet of the harrowing conditions at the storm's epicenter, as state officials and emergency workers fought to retain control amid rising floodwaters and failing communications systems. Their release comes amid new efforts by Blanco to defend her government's much-criticized response to the nation's costliest natural disaster.

Raw and frequently conflicting, reflecting the chaotic conditions in the initial hours after the storm hit, the records paint an intimate portrait of a state struggling to overcome extremes of weather and bureaucratic incompetence as the storm ripped its way across the state.

The documents were prepared in response to requests by two congressional committees investigating the federal response to Katrina. Blanco spokeswoman Denise Bottcher said the governor decided to release the documents "publicly not to vindicate herself, but to set the record straight."

"You can see the requests that were made, day after day, hour after hour," Bottcher said yesterday.

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said she has not seen the documents, but noted multiple reviews of the week of the storm are underway, "and all levels of government have a responsibility to take stock of what happened, act on it, and then make sure it doesn't ever happen again."

Blanco has been struggling to repair her image after being widely criticized for the state's initial response to Katrina. In contrast to reports that she was indecisive and overwhelmed, the new documents portray her as assertive, if somewhat beleaguered. "I believe my biggest mistake was believing FEMA officials who told me that the necessary federal resources would be available in a timely fashion," Blanco wrote in one memo.

Among the trove of documents were thousands of internal e-mails, handwritten notes and communiques that show the governor's staff responding to dozens of crises as the severity of the storm became apparent. As late as Friday evening, Aug. 26, Louisiana hurricane planners expected the storm to hit eastern Mississippi, causing only a two- to four-foot tidal surge in the state. But when they met 12 hours later, they discovered the storm track had shifted west and was projected to swamp coastal areas with surges of as much as 18 feet.

By early Saturday, with predictions for Katrina becoming increasingly dire, Blanco had launched a desperate effort to persuade New Orleanians to evacuate ahead of the storm, memos show.

Her staff began calling ministers in African American churches, telling them to advise parishioners to "pack and pray." But with the city's evacuation efforts still lagging, Blanco decided she needed to appear publicly with Nagin. Some on her staff expressed concern that such an "artificial event" would pull people from their posts during evacuation preparation, but Blanco "seems to feel that a show of unity is important for the people of the area to see," according to an e-mail. It was decided that the meeting would be held on "Nagin's turf."

After the storm hit, Blanco's staff was under siege on every front, the communiques show. Someone sent word that 60 people were starving and dying at a sugar refinery. Another reported that elderly patients were trapped in a nursing home. "Our crews just got into St. Tammany Parish and it is bad," said an Aug. 29 e-mail to Kopplin, Blanco's chief of staff. "They are under water, major damage and they need someone from the state and FEMA to help."

Intermingled with the damage reports were hundreds of offers of assistance, from every conceivable source. A church called to offer buses. A developer called to offer the use of a mall. Jordan's King Abdullah called asking to speak with Blanco. The Italian consul general in Houston sent word that he was "headed to New Orleans to pick up stranded Italians" and did not want to be stopped by state police.

The next day, as images of New Orleans's devastation became clear, an e-mail to the governor's assistant chief of staff -- the sender's name was redacted in the documents -- said that Nagin "seemed overwhelmed and didn't have a clue on national news," and listed selling points for Blanco's office to use in gaining federal help: "New Orleans inextricably tied to national economy, 25 percent offshore oil contribution and number one port in U.S."

Blanco's office was concerned with perceptions, too. Jerry Luke LeBlanc, Blanco's chief financial adviser, stressed the need to take control of hurricane victim relief funds. LeBlanc said he had already seen political commentator James Carville and musician Wynton Marsalis, both Louisiana-born, on national TV "saying they are raising money for this effort. We have got to get this under control."

Other documents from Louisiana's state and emergency preparedness command detail how emergency workers struggled to cope with encroaching floodwaters and the rising human toll over ensuing days. The reports paint a scene of growing chaos, beginning at dawn Aug. 29, with flood-control pumping stations failing, "extensive flooding in eastern New Orleans," fires and building collapses.

That day National Guard helicopters rescued 2,296 people from rooftops and "newly created islands," according a Louisiana National Guard report. Blackhawks designed to carry 11 passengers ignored standard operating procedures; one crew loaded 31 evacuees into one of the helicopters.

Overnight the crisis deepened. Although FEMA and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers personnel in New Orleans reported witnessing a massive break hundreds of feet long in the 17th Street Canal levee that afternoon -- effectively dooming the city -- the first report of the collapse in the state police log came at 3 a.m. the next day, Aug. 30.

By that time, police had tracked 548 calls for help, mostly people from New Orleans trapped in attics or on rooftops. Pleas for rescue would grow throughout the day, a new 911 call every minute on average.

"The water in the City of New Orleans is rising," the state police log reported at 3 p.m. on Aug. 30. By that time, Charity and Tulane University hospitals had flooded. Inmates had freed themselves at Orleans Parish Prison, threatening 150 deputies and family members in a second-floor break room.

A gun store was burglarized, with dispatchers noting, "Every gun has been stolen including assault rifles." Railroad tanker cars filled with chemicals were entangled in power lines, creating fears of chlorine, acid and oil spills.

At 6 p.m., state police Trooper Robert Bennett reported, "New Orleans City Hall is starting to take on water. They are closing their EOC at 1800hrs. They don't know where or when it will be reopened."

The night of Aug. 30 , police recorded a cry for help every 25 seconds, or 900 calls between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. By 11 a.m. Aug. 31, the police log shows, National Guard units abandoned air rescues, changing over to dropping food and water.

Blanco's response can be found at http://gov.louisiana.gov

Venom_Nitrous

I have little sympaty for the hurricane Katrina victims. Especially the ones with the nice homes. The poor I sort of feel for. First off I hate the fact that I, yes I, am paying for the majority of it. Bush and congress have cuts immense amounts of school and finantial aid funding so that we can rebuild these rich bastards houses. I am talking in the realm of about $4000 per year of funding. The reason I am so pissed is that these people chose to live in an area that they knew would flood. They could buy flood insurance. It would be outrageously expensive, but it could be gotten. they didn't get it and now the rest of america is paying for it. If I were to go and buy an new Ferrari, I could get insurance on it. It would be outrageously expensive once again but I could get it. Say I elect not to, and I wrap the sucker around a pole one night. Do I expect the government to pay for it? No. I was a high risk, I couldn't afford insurance, SO I DON'T BUY IT IN THE FIRST PLACE. Some of these people have done this many times over too. Makes me want to vomit. There, I vented.

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2000 Mustang GT--Performance Red--340 HP--Bolt-ons and NOSzle--Yeah, It looks like a V6

"Have you ever noticed that anybody driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac?"
-George Carlin

JonJon

that's retarded.

the rich are just smart taking advantage of -stupid- GOVERNMENT rules. you shouldn't feel sorry for the poor, they could've moved.

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VoodooChi|d

Not really... a minimum wage job is better than no job at all... if they move they aren't guaranteed a job... and moving isn't cheap especially for someone who doesn't have much money

JonJon

for someone who doesn't have much money, they probably don't have many possessions either
just get up and move

there are ALWAYS jobs, if you don't have marketable skills though, whose fault is that? oh, yours.

it all boils down to stupid and poor people not helping themselves.

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VoodooChi|d

there are a significant number of homeless people in austin that have college degrees... it isn't always about marketable skills... and there isn't ALWAYS jobs... dont be so fast to assume things about poor black people

JonJon

have you looked at a job listing lately?
there are -always- jobs

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JonJon

p.s.
i never said nothin bout blacks, you racialist david!

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Faaip de Oiad

JonJon doesn't like black people.

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The Life of Reilly

JonJon

that's david mang, he said it
he assume poor = black



we all that's not true, look at kobeee

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VoodooChi|d

there are jobs but there is more than 1 unemployed person for every job opening

VoodooChi|d

troof!

You and GW are just haters!

JonJon

doesn't mean there isn't a job for someone who WANTS a job
people just use the "i can't find a job" excuse to get away with a lot of stuff
i like kobee!!
he raped a girl and got away with it
that is sweet

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BlackArtemis

so where are the real reports not the tibits the post wants you to read? Like how they never had a state plan to begin with or that they ignored the buses they were given? Morons complain that the buses they recieved would not be enough but failed to even use the ones they had. little to no planning was done state side to prevent this and on top of this this fema's response was faster to this than Hurricane Andrew.

Also they fail to mention that sending a memo to bush is not the proceedure to go about getting help, there are forms and avenues to go about doing it correctly, which was failed to be done

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BlackArtemis

in retrospect http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...&q=blanco+nino

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YoungGun

dude...before you vent I think you should learn some facts.

they havn't been doing this "many times over" the state of Louisana is the 49th poorest state and also teh 49th when it comes to brain power and wages I believe.

the "rich" got out...smart for them.

the "poor" had every means to get out...the busses the local govt. offered, the DEMANDS TO GTFO of dodge or die...were heard of deaf ears

many didnt want to leave...why would they? just a great big party afterwards to steal and loot to their desire.

now balme florida for "many times over"

btw blanco = stupid moron.

Chad

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JonJon

like the whole lot of busses that were left in a low lying area and got flooded

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YoungGun

100% true...

andrew took 2 weeks. and THEY were right outside of miami...

Chad

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pinski

Actually, government flood insurance is ridiculously cheap when considered in the realm of all insurance. My folks own a beachfront property on the South Carolina coast, which is protected by gov't flood insurance. I believe that it also lowers your homeowners insurance as well I'm pretty sure that it's around $1000/year, but I'd have to ask to be certain.

Not too bad to only pay a few grand over a period of many years to have the gov't pay to rebuild a $200,000 house completely

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rbohm

this is more stupidity by governor blanco to shift the blame to FEMA and president bush, rather than where the blame truely lies, namely with that idiot mayor of NO. he should have ordered a mandatory evacuation 48hrs before katrina hit, and ordered the drivers of the school buses to work picking up as many NO residents that needed evacuation. governor blanco had, and still has, more than 7000 national guard troops at her command that she could have ordered up to active duty before katrina hit, and she could, and should, have ordered buses from all over louisiana to aid in an evacuation.

also you dont contact FEMA the say of the hurricane, or even the day before the hurricane hits, and have them send you assistance right away, FEMA doesnt work like that, as their response time is rather slow. the local and state governments have ultimate responsibility for what happened, but being liberals they want to blame others for their lack of action.

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66 mustang
77 olds delta 88

a man's fate is a man's fate
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JonJon

exactly

why doesn't the report mention the mayor and their failed evacuation plan

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Mr Jiggyfly

No one denys that this ball was dropped. There were alot of failures with local and state government. The National Guard WAS activated and sent to NO before the storm. But the lack of coordination left them with no weapons...they were in Jackson, MS in a flooded warehouse... . Why can't FEMA mobilize in a day or so? You think it should take a week for them to get into Cali for a major quake in Los Angeles? It was a full week before I saw the hundreds of choppers headed toward Slidell in eastern Louisiana and the Gulf Coast. I was in the flight path and they would come over 15-20 at a time about every 30 minutes. We can send 50 thousand plus troops halfway around the world in less than a week. Why can't FEMA respond in a day?

I'll address some other issues without quoting...

First...no "rich" people are getting one dime of federal money. The first question FEMA asks is if you have insurance and if so they will compansate for what the ins. doesn't cover. Sure if you were in immediate need of cash there was 2 grand available but believe me if you are rich you aint worried about a measly 2 grand. Also most of the flooding in the NO area was in parts where residents were told they were not in a flood plain and DID NOT need flood ins. Would you pay for something that you were told was not needed? It is why there is a class action lawsuit now because the ins companies are only paying for damage above the flood line. So if you had 10 feet of water in your house you get a new roof. Too bad you can't live under that new roof if you don't have the cash to rebuild.

There was a state plan in place...it is why 2.5 million people evacuated ahead of the storm. What was left was the 40-50 thousand that had no way our or chose to stay...then complained about the slow aid. The Fed wants to show the Louisiana government as dysfuntional in asking for aid but the same delays occurred in Mississippi and Alabama. The reason they pick on Blanco is political. She is Democrat while the other two Governors are Republican. Don't think for one minute the people affected in MS and AL were not left to fend for themselves for weeks. I'm not defending Blanco at all. Her hands are full of dirt as well as the mayor of NO.

As far as being "49th in brain power and wages" that is kind of a broad statement. We have one of the most prestigiuos universities in the country at Tulane. It isn't called the "Ivy League of the South" because of it's sports programs. Where I live we have one of the top school districts in the state...and above the national average. Most of the educational shortfalls come from the mentality "I need to get out of school and get to work". It has been handed down generations ago when most of the south was farmland and education was secondary to working the fields.

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rbohm

FEMA is NOT a first responder, and it takes time to moblize people, equipment, and supplies. organize the response teams, and get everything to where it needs to be. remember also that the federal government cannot by law do anything about a disaster untill they are invited in by the state government, and you really cant declare an area a disaster area untill that disaster hits, thus the feds cannot do anything untill action is requested and required.

as far as mississpi and alabama, those governors reacted as they should have, and followed their emergency plans as best they could.

also dont forget the scope of the disaster area. mobilizing people, equipment, and supplies to cover an area that large is not as simple as saying "ok guys get it done".

and when was the last time the federal government did anything rapidly? even the buildup for the iraq war took a fair amount of time.

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64 falcon
66 mustang
77 olds delta 88

a man's fate is a man's fate
and life is but an illusion

BlackArtemis

I have family in gulfport and new new Orleans. How come we don't here shit about gulfport anymore? O that's right even though they got hit as hard they were more intelligent and better prepared. THe only problem there is a shortageof people for work (such as construction etc) so rebuilding is a lil slow.

Anti bush media and people who just plain like to bitch no matter who is president are making a big stink about this, too bad their 15 mins are not up yet...

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Mr Jiggyfly

But isn't it kind of stupid to say "ok..we have a major storm that is about to hit a major city...but we won't mobilize anything until after it hits". I understand the logistics in moving on something of this magnatude but it still would be beneficial to be poised to get in to help AND have the resources to get the job done. You say the governors of MS and AL followed their plans the best they could...imagine evacuating 2.5 milllion people out of South Louisiana and New Orleans without some sort of plan. We learned from Hurricane Georges that something needed to be done with evacution routes after 1000's of cars were stuck in traffic even after the storm had passed. Thank goodness it turned before getting closer to NO. Everyone with the opputunity were out before the storm hit. No so for Rita in Texas...what kind of plan did they have?

Mistakes were made...everywhere. The biggest problem in New Orleans was the lack of transportation for those who had none...the late call for a mandatory eveacution, although it doesn't take rocket science to figure out this thing was going to be bad, there were years of warnings...and the pissing match the state and fed got into over control of the situation. Pile that on top of a shoddy levee system and failed pumping stations and you have 80% of one of the most populus areas in the country underwater.

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